News roundup: Behind the scenes with a candid Obama

Behind the scenes with President Obama. Snow to shutter D.C., again. Mitt premiers at Sundance.

Happy Tuesday. The New Yorker's David Remnick spent quite some time with President Barack Obama, looking at the difficulties his White House has faced and its accomplishments that may take some time to realize. It's a long read but worth it for several tidbits: If he had a son, Obama wouldn't let him play pro football. The president plans to write his memoirs after leaving office and could fetch upwards of $20 million for it (Michelle Obama is already working on her memoirs). Obama talks about race, about legalizing marijuana and comparing himself to fictional presidents and real ones that he admires.

-> Best quote, from Obama, referencing the Godfather: "It turns out Marlon Brando had it easy, because, when it comes to Congress, there is no such thing as an offer they can't refuse." [

NewYorker

]

Topping the news:

"Mitt," an intimate portrait of the behind the scenes moments of Mitt Romney's two presidential campaigns, premiered at Sundance, and Romney himself attended the opening. [

Trib

] [

WaPost

] [

DNews

] [

Herald

] [

Fox13

] [

KUTV

] [

ABC4

]

-> Romney also answered questions after the premiere about the same-sex marriage ruling in Utah, Chris Christie's bridge scandal and what Romney had wished he'd done differently in 2012. [

WaPost

]

-> Some 60 percent of Utahns support adopting legal protections against discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in housing and the workplace, a Tribune poll finds. [

Trib

]

Tweet of the day:

From

@Timodc

: "'Mitt' is absolutely agonizing. Can't imagine what it'd be like for one of the kids to watch."

From

@NickKristof

: "Best part of the Bob Gates memoir so far is the revelation that a new SecDef has to pee in a cup for a drug test, like other new hires."

Happy Birthday:

To Shelley Hatch.

Attention D.C.'s federal workers

: From the Office of Personnel Management: "FEDERAL OFFICES in the Washington, DC, area are CLOSED. Emergency and telework-ready employees required to work must follow their agency's policies, including written telework agreements." Up to 8 inches of snow possible in the D.C. region and a winter storm warning is in effect.

-> Kelly D. Patterson, a professor of political science at Brigham Young University, argues that the LDS Church shouldn't adjust to "modern," popular attitudes just because they are modern. Modern does not always mean better. [

Trib

]

-> Jason Stevenson and Rachel Jackson from the Utah Health Policy Project argue that the Affordable Care Act is not all about healthcare.gov and is actually helping Utahns. [

Trib

]

-> George Pyle says Utah's caucus system ignores the will of most Utahs and even most Utah Republicans. [

-> David Nimkin, the southwest senior regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association, argues Master Lease Plans will help create a balance between conservation and recreation and oil and gas production. [

-> Former Sen. Bob Bennett reviews the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence's report on the attacks in Benghazi. [

DNews

]

Weekend in review:

Utah asked for a 10 day extension on the deadline to submit initial arguments in defense of its same-sex marriage ban. [

Trib

] [

DNews

] [

Herald

]

-> A proposed bill in Congress would prevent the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages performed in Utah. [

Trib

]

-> A new poll shows that a majority of Utahns oppose same-sex marriage and believe marriage should be a state's rights issue. A majority also believe if same-sex marriage were legal there should be laws in place to protect places of worship from being forced to perform same-sex marriages. [

DNews

]

-> The group Mormons Building Bridges will hold meetings across the Wasatch Front in order to answer questions about a bill to ban workplace and housing discrimination based on sexual orientation. [

KUTV

]

-> The ACLU is set a announce its lawsuit challenging Utah's decision to not recognize same-sex marriages performed in the state. [

DNews

]

-> Supporters of same-sex marriage held a reception at Sundance. [

DNews

] [

Fox13

] [

KUTV

]

-> George Takei, who played Sulu in the original "Star Trek" and is now a social media activist, spoke out at Sundance against Gov. Herbert's decision to not recognize same-sex marriages performed in Utah. [

Trib

] [

Fox13

] [

ABC4

]

-> The battle over the War on Poverty is still going 50 years after it started How has it helped Utah's poor? [

Reader comments on sltrib.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Salt Lake Tribune. We will delete comments containing obscenities, personal attacks and inappropriate or offensive remarks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. If you see an objectionable comment, please alert us by clicking the arrow on the upper right side of the comment and selecting "Flag comment as inappropriate". If you've recently registered with Disqus or aren't seeing your comments immediately, you may need to verify your email address. To do so, visit disqus.com/account. See more about comments here.